Hertz First Car-Rental Company to Deploy a Zero-Emissions All-Electric Bus

26th Oct 2011

“Hertz is aggressively moving forward with its Global EV program, introducing electric vehicles into its worldwide fleet and testing other electric vehicles as they become available,” says Mark P. Frissora, Hertz Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Hertz’s mission is to provide the most technologically advanced mobility solutions to our customers, including the buses we use as part of our everyday operations at airports. We continue Hertz’s track record of innovation by being first to deploy an all-electric shuttle bus in the US.”

The BYD pure electric eBUS-12 is able to run 155 miles on a single charge in urban conditions, more than enough for Hertz’s use at its airport locations, and its energy consumption is less than 100 kWh per 60 miles. The eBUS-12 is designed with the customer in mind, with a low floor and ample space to allow easy passenger loading and unloading and the bus has specially engineered sound insulation for a quieter cabin experience. The eBUS is being tested at Hertz’s Los Angeles Airport location, shuttling car rental customers between the terminals and Hertz’s rental facility. With a lower cost of ownership than a traditional gas powered bus, replacing just one traditional bus with the eBUS will reduce emissions by over 320 kg of CO2 (per 150 miles traveled) and save Hertz an average of $76* per day, per bus in fuel costs! (*32 gallons of diesel at $3.20/gal are replaced with $25.92 in electricity for $0.08/Kwh—the night time EV charge rates in LA).

BYD America President, Stella Li, stated, “BYD is thrilled to partner with HERTZ to demonstrate this significant breakthrough in zero-emissions buses. Not only is this eBUS a third less expensive to operate, but the total life-time costs are much less expensive than any other comparable 40-foot bus. Hertz is a leader in electric vehicles and other innovations and we are pleased to see that Hertz is the first rental company to deploy an all-electric bus.”

Hertz recently expanded its EV initiative to China, making it the first global rental car company to offer electric vehicles (EVs) on three continents. In its first year, the Hertz Global EV initiative has grown from a vision to a market presence cities around the world including New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London and Shenzhen, offering the most diverse fleet of EVs from manufactures including BYD, Nissan, GM, Mitsubishi, Renault, Daimler and Tesla. Hertz is uniquely positioned to introduce multiple groups of consumers - urban drivers, university students, travelers and corporations - to all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. As part of its strategy, Hertz is forming partnerships with automakers, charging station providers, municipalities, NGOs, corporations and other stakeholders.

Hertz plans to increase its global EV presence by deploying vehicles in other countries in the coming months. Hertz Global EV will continue to leverage the company’s rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging stations, and tap into its technology - including sophisticated fleet management tools and the consumer-facing GPS systems, including the NeverLost GPS system in the U.S. - to help form an EV grid.

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